Sebastian Vettel has been given a new chassis for the Spanish Grand Prix, though Red Bull insists it was a scheduled change rather than one enforced by his recent struggles.

Though it has struggled with its Renault engine this season, Red Bull's RB10 is one of the strongest aerodynamic packages on the grid, and Vettel's podium in Malaysia was the only one the team has scored this year. However in the last two races he has struggled compared to Daniel Ricciardo, complaining that the car does not suit his driving style, though Red Bull is adamant the chassis change is not reflective of this.

"Sebastian will get a new chassis for Barcelona, which was scheduled at the start of the season and then the next one will be for Dan at some time around Silverstone," chief designer Rob Marshall said. "Normally we make four or five chassis during the year, maybe six, so it wouldn't be unusual for each driver to change at least once or twice during the year. Normally they would use at least two.

However Marshall does not think Vettel will be in an advantageous position due to the change.

"It shouldn't be [beneficial], as the idea is that they are all the same. Drivers don't always want to change them - they can get attached to a particular chassis and when they are on a good run they like to hang on to it for as long as possible!

"From our point of view we'd rather give them one or two new chassis during the season that we have been able to check out in the factory using various testing methods."